How do you make a marionette move? What connects its parts and pieces? Can you (yes, you!) make your very first marionette in an hour? Learn all this and more in an afternoon workshop with the incomparable Madison J. Cripps! He will begin with an introduction to the essential parts of the string puppet, or marionette, before constructing your own simple marionettes. You’ll learn some basic knots, attach strings for the fun of it, and explore the forces and mechanics that bring a marionette to life. Then, everyone will stop just “hanging around” and share their newly created puppets with the group by using exercises designed to get the body — and the puppet — moving.

Next, they'll dive deeper into marionette performance by using the puppets from A Slice of Crazy Pie to learn how design choices affect movement. Manipulate the marionettes to discover the relationships of gravity, pendular momentum, and active and passive movement. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to play with trick strings and other simple mechanisms that can help you take your marionettes to the next level.

All those interested in exploring the construction and manipulation of string marionettes are welcome in this workshop! No experience necessary — just an appreciation of marionette-themed puns!

About the Instructor

Madison J. Cripps has been performing as a professional puppeteer for over a decade, both in Massachusetts and in North Carolina. His dedication to the art form has earned several accolades, including an UNIMA Citation of Excellence in Puppetry in 2015 for his work on Billy the Liar with Toybox Theater. In addition to performing with and making puppets, he works as a jewelry designer and received formal training in silver jewelry design at Sterling Quest School in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Madison draws on his diverse experiences in fine arts, construction, environmentalism, theater, and travel to create his imaginative, and often surprising, works of puppetry.